Be Skeptical
by addictedanimelover
Summary: It probably should bother Kensei that he currently has a hitchhiker in his truck. But strangely enough it doesn't. Rather he wants to learn more about the stranger he found and go to extreme lengths to help the scarred teenager.
1. Chapter 1

_"A boy,"_ Shinji snorts over the phone, clearly doubting his friend on the other end of the receiver.

"Yep," Kensei sighs into the phone, squinting into the rearview mirror as he took a sharp left turn.

 _"He with you now?"_

At the mentioning of the boy, Kensei glances over at the youngster, who is currently frowning at his beloved's truck's radio, which keeps tuning in and out. Kensei can't get himself to leave the boy alone, and figures that he might as well say something.

"Yeah."

Shinji's quiet and skeptical. Kensei huffs out a sigh, looking in his side mirror and then out the rearview again before peering down the dark road.

"Shinji."

 _"I hope to hell you know what you're doin', Kensei."_ Which is as much permission or blessing as Kensei's gonna get. Heh, Shinji probably figures on the scale of crazy, Kensei is at least sliding down to about an eight.

"Would you knock that off?" Kensei demands, gruffer than he meant to be, but this is his _baby truck_ and he does not like seeing it's radio being used so…roughly.

 _"What?"_ Shinji sounds a little surprised, and Kensei says with a soft huff on annoyance as he watch the kid merely blink several times at him,

"Shinji, I gotta go. I'll call you when we reach my place."

The teenager blinks up at him again as Kensei shuts the heat off abruptly and ends the phone call.

God…he really was getting bothered by the kid's continuous blinking. A blink is too long in his opinion. With his eyes closed, through the film of his eyelids, the kid probably starts feeling all dreamy. With his eyes open, everything is in clear focus.

"It's hot outside."

The teen tilts his head, black hair falling to one side. The radio spits out unrecognizable sounds.

"We don't need heat," Kensei clarifies with a light growl, clearly in a bad mood. He's completely toasty warm, but that's beside the point.

"Kid. Make the radio work. Aren't you teenagers good at that kind of thing?"

He turns and looks out the window, but "Bad Blood" starts blasting from the speakers, making the older of the two cringe. Pop music these days really was getting on his nerves. Couldn't they create songs these days that actually stood for something, like all lives matter? Instead of teaching that you should twerk 24/7 and dump the first boy that even looks at you the wrong way?

Kensei sighs involuntarily, then glances to the side, towards the shotgun seat. Sure enough, the kid still is staring in apparent fascination out the window at the rolling hills flashing by.

Did he make a mistake in taking the hitchhiker?

The only answer was the surprisingly comforting purring of the truck's engine.


	2. Chapter 2

Please enjoy~!

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"So what's he think about all this, anyway?" Shinji asks from inside the bathroom, a few days after Shuhei had moved in.

"He doesn't have an opinion," Kensei replies from the other side, calm and near the point of throwing his arms up into the air and yell for the hell of it, like they've been having this conversation for hours and he doesn't need to ask Shinji who he's talking about.

Kind of freakish.

"Oh, that's just rich…What makes you think it's need-?"

"You misunderstand. He's a teenager that needs help—"

"Yeah, this all sounds familiar," Horse teeth snorts, coming out to look at his reflection.

"He had no family, only his shit in his bag. Dammit Shinji, he needs someone!"

Shinji merely rolled his eyes, casting his gaze towards Kensei's.

"And you think you're perfect for the job of being that someone?"

"Yeah. Besides he's already moved in and all, even calls me Unc-"

"Wait—He calls you _Uncle_?" Shinji asks suspiciously, looking at Kensei's reflection in the mirror.

"I told him to call me whatever. I didn't approve of the nickname old man however….so it ended up being Uncle."

Shinji stills, because…he turns and looks at him dead in the eye. "He's a kid."

"….you've stated that at **least** a hundred times in one hour Shinji."

"I have a right to be worried….You're not gonna jump the kid are ya?" Shinji hisses, because this just went from "mildly acceptable" to " becoming wrong, utterly and completely fucked up".

Shinji stands, right in Kensei's space and the sliver-haired male is suddenly ready to flip, maybe wants to punch his friend..

son of a _bitch_.

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Thanks for reading...please review or at least follow!


	3. Chapter 3

"Kensei, where've you been?" Rose demands when they come in, staring at teenager for a second before returning his glare to Kensei, who huffs a soft sigh and tosses his coat on the free bed.

"Last time I checked it didn't take twelve hours to get kid and bring him here. It's almost noon, Kensei. Your phone stop working?"

"Rose—" Kensei starts warningly, keeping an eye on the kid (who he had just recently learned the name of) but distracted by Rose shifting his weight back and forth, pursing his lips and crossing his arms over his chest.

Clearly his friend was overreacting.

Rose's voice is reaching "serious annoying" level. "And who is that?"

"I told you on the phone after I finished dealing with Rose's bitching on the phone. You—don't touch a single thing," Kensei warns, pointing at Shuhei, who is getting dangerously close to the window. Shuhei turns to Kensei, slides his hands in his pockets, and nods once.

Tch, he really did need to teach that kid to speak up more.

"Who _is_ that?" Rose demands again. Kensei's forgotten _how_ much Rose nags. He holds onto stuff like a cat with a rat, and Kensei's in no mood to be shaken.

"Rose," He snarls, picking up the ringing phone and answering it."

"….yeah Shinji?" He murmured, after recognizing the caller's phone number.

 _"I take it this means you're home safe."_

"Yeah. Talk to Rose." He murmurs, shoving the phone at Rose and grabbing Shuhei's arm. TV is still fizzy.

Those two could bitch together for all he cared.

"Why are there mirrors on the ceilings?" Shuhei inquires lowly, peering up at their strange reflections.

Kensei…doesn't have the energy to even speak. "So that when Rose talks to me, and I start losing it, I'm guaranteed to be killed by shards and be put outta my misery."

Shuhei looks at him, hands still in his pockets. "I didn't mean to bother you…"

Kensei doesn't say, "I know" because that'd be too quick…that's…he's not even sure he's buying what Shuhei is selling, except that he _is_. He doesn't seem to be able to help it.

Doesn't mean Rose or Shuhei has to know that.

Shuhei is examining his coat, which makes Kensei think.

"Rose!" Kensei calls, making a decision and turning, grabbing the keys. "Give me the card."

Rose looks up from where he's frowning at the street below, still talking to Shinji. He hands Kensei his wallet.

"What?"

"Look…he needs clothes, his jacket is in shreds and mine won't fit him."

Rose just stares at him.

Shuhei tilts his head and pulls out his coat to observe it.

"Unless you can...you know, heal it with the power of love?" Kensei asks Rose sarcastically, grabbing Rose's coat from the couch and throwing it to the teenager.

It falls on the floor.

"Kid. Catch. Very simple."

Rolling his eyes, Shuhei shrugs out of the wrecked coat, picks up Rose's and shrugs it on without a word. It's…well. Doesn't exactly fit. More like it hangs off his sides.

Of course Kensei also rolls his eyes.

Rose stares at him for a few still seconds. "Kensei."

"Nourishment….please…" Shuhei observes.

"We're hittin' the mall."

"Kensei," Rose repeats.

"The mall," Shuhei repeats.

"We'll be back," Kensei promises, grabbing Shuhei's arm and tugging him out the room.

"Back in an hour, Rose."

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Hope you guys like the latest chapter! Please review and tell me what you guys think!


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